Badgers stun Longhorns

With a Texas defender leaving him room to shoot, Flowers swished a long 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to give the Badgers a one-point lead.

As if that weren't enough, he followed it with the defensive play of the game.

Flowers stole Texas' inbounds pass and tossed the ball high into the air as he tumbled toward the stands. Texas players, already stunned by the 3-pointer, could only watch as the last second ticked off the clock before the ball came down, and Flowers was mobbed by his teammates.

Game over. Wisconsin 67, No. 9 Texas 66.

"I was laying for that steal all game, and I finally got one on that inbounds pass," said Flowers, who had two steals and seven points. "I jumped and left my feet, so I couldn't come down and call timeout. I just threw it straight up in the air and hoped time ran out."

The Badgers' final play was supposed to be set up for Brian Butch, the 6-foot-11 center who dominated Texas' interior with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Texas knew it was coming and smothered Butch, leaving Flowers open for the shot from about 22 feet.

"I don't think they were coming down looking for a 3-point shot," said Texas guard A.J. Abrams, who was defending Flowers. "He's a threat, but we were playing for the drive. He just let it go, and you've got to live with it."

Abrams could have given Texas a three-point lead moments earlier, but the 93-percent free-throw shooter missed the first of two with 11 seconds left.

"I don't miss too much from the line. When it didn't go in, it kind of shocked me," Abrams said.

Wisconsin (10-2) played without leading scorer Trevon Hughes, who spent the game on the bench with crutches and a boot on his right ankle.

Damion James scored 21 and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Longhorns (11-2), who have lost two in a row after their best start since the 1981-82 season. Palo Duro graduate Justin Mason and Amarillo High graduate J.D. Lewis did not score.

As was the case in its loss against No. 7 Michigan State, Texas struggled to match up against a Big 10 Conference team with size and muscle.

The Badgers outscored Texas 36-28 in the paint and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the second half. The Longhorns also struggled shooting free throws, hitting 6-of-12 from the line with several key misses during the final minutes.

"We've got to do the same thing we've talked about - post defense and rebound," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "These two games, the thing that hurt us most was points in the paint."

Despite those struggles, Texas appeared likely to pull out the win behind James' superb scoring and rebounding when he zipped a pass to D.J. Augustin for a layup that put Texas up 61-56.